Empty Bowls returns to The Mountain

By Lilah G.

Mountain Range’s annual 2025 empty bowl fundraiser was February 25th during lunch periods. Empty Bowls is a fundraiser started by a high school art teacher in 1990 to raise awareness of hunger in the world. Mountain Range High School students will create ceramic bowls. At the event guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder that there are always empty bowls in the world. This event started at Mountain Range in 2009. This fundraiser helps support our community and those in need by raising money for the Food Bank of the Rockies

How does the "Empty Bowls" event work and what can participants expect when they attend? Mrs. Dowling, Ceramics teacher at Mountain Range, organizes the event: “Staff members have a chili cook off. They can purchase a bowl and then have chili. There are prizes for the best chili. Students are able to purchase ceramic bowls outside of the teacher work area at this time as well.”

When asked if she had any success stories over the previous years,  she responded “Each year we raise between $500 and $800. This helps our community that is food insecure. Students also have a chance to make and sell artwork for a good cause. Each year is a success because MRHS students and staff come together as a community. “Mrs. Dowling also said “ We would like to keep the tradition going year after year and to raise more awareness of hunger in our community.” This year Mountain Range raised $470 with this event. 

This year's Chili Cook Off had different categories of prizes. The “Best of Cook Off” went to Amy Ramirez,  “Hottest” went to Sydney Street, “Most Creative” going to Ryan Berg, and “Popular Vote” went to Bill Adamsky. Ms. Ramirez was happy she won and shared her recipe. The secret is… there was no secret at all!! She claims she just adds stuff without really measuring anything, and loves that the recipe comes out great every time. 

Lastly, Ms. Dowling expresses her appreciation for all the teachers and students who participated this year, and looks forward to another great event in 2026.